Spark

by J Marie

  first.”

  “How the hell are you going to do that?”

  “One little domino at a time,” I answered.

  She smiled. “I knew, after all this, you’d still be tough as nails.”

  “What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, right? We’re still alive. I’m not

  going to stop fighting until I’m dead if that’s what it takes.”

  “I wish there was something I could do to help you,” Kayla muttered.

  “You can,” I answered. “You can stay strong for me. I’ll get us out of this, Kayla.

  It might take a few years, but I won’t give up. Just don’t let that fuck face allow you

  to forget who you are.”

  Kayla smiled at me, hopeful and alive. “I won’t let you down,” she said.

  “Goddamn right,” I affirmed.

  Kayla and I continued to talk about our lives since we’d been sold, and it was

  surprising to find she was pretty much in the same position as I was. Though she

  didn’t battle with Matt like I did Darren, she still kept up a good defiant attitude for

  as long as she could take it. Eventually, she had given in to Matt, which was

  understandable. I didn’t blame her for that. Even I had given in to Darren in some

  aspects.

  When I told her about our fight in Darren’s training room, she laughed and

  clapped her hands together in obvious amusement. She was proud of me for

  standing up to him the way I had, even though I lost in the end. She was excited to

  know I was still training, making my body better than ever before. I didn’t tell her

  about the island or how I’d gotten there, but I did let her in on the adventure in

  Alaska and the wolf pack that almost ate me. She’d nearly lost her shit when I

  showed her the scars.

  She was beyond envious when I told her about Camaro, but she had said she was

  the only pet in the house as far as Rainer was concerned. It felt good to hear from

  her; it felt good to hear anything from her. Even if it wasn’t the best news, even if

  she was obviously uncomfortable with the amount of talking we were engaging in, I

  was just glad she was all right. I was happy to finally be interacting with another

  person other than Darren, and it was a woman no less. My subconscious was

  practically singing itself back to health. Genuine laughter did wonders for my

  mental state.

  “Do you ever think about them?” Kayla finally asked me. I knew exactly who she

  was talking about but didn’t want to acknowledge it.

  “I try not to,” I said. “But I’ll see them again. I’m just not sure when.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “It’s going to be okay, Kayla. One way or another, I’m going to fix this. Somehow

  …”

  “Don’t get yourself killed, Jaden,” she warned. “If something happens to you

  …”

  I scoffed. “There are other things worse than death, Kayla. Besides, don’t you

  know who you’re talking to? I’m indestructible.” I gave her a smile hoping to ease

  her nerves, but even she could see I was talking out of my ass. Now that I knew of

  Kayla and where she was, I felt more fragile than ever. Darren had officially added a

  new toy to the box that he could easily take away from me.

  Some few minutes later, I felt a chill rise up my back as the door behind us

  opened, and I could feel Darren’s eyes on me before I even turned around. He and

  Matt were standing right behind us.

  “Time to go,” Darren said.

  I nodded and stood with Kayla. We gave each other a quick hug, eyes locking for

  one final moment as if this could be our last moment together—and for all I knew,

  it very well could be. Matt could kill her tomorrow if he wanted, and Darren could

  refuse to allow me to see her again. Pain erupted in my chest as I walked away from

  her to Darren’s side. His large hand pressed into the small of my back, leading me

  out of the house and back to the car.

  Something was off about his demeanor. He seemed tense, cold, and frankly,

  pissed off. I wondered if something had gone wrong between him and Matt? When

  we were on the road, my warning flags were in full mast as the little hairs on my

  arm stood on edge. Darren’s knuckles were white as his gripped the steering wheel,

  his jaw clenched shut, while his breathing remained slow and even. He was

  definitely pissed about something but was holding it back. It was freaking me out,

  and I had no idea how to dissolve the anger coming off his body like steam.

  To be honest, I was pretty pissed myself. He knew all this time where Kayla was

  and who she was with, and he never told me. Of course, he would feel that

  information was privileged, but he had to have known how important she was to

  me. I wanted to berate him for withholding her from me, but instead, I bit back my

  pride and did something else that made me shake with rage.

  “Thank you for letting me see Kayla,” I said softly through gritted teeth.

  Darren didn’t say a word, just clutched the steering wheel tighter. Fuck,

  something was up, and it was making me panic inside. Had I done something to

  upset him? I was a perfect fucking angel in there, eating out of his hand like a little

  fucking bird, and he thought he could be the one to be pissed off? With his brooding

  and my own, the tension in the car was so palpable I swore it fogged the car.

  When we finally pulled up in front of the house, I tore out of the vehicle before

  he even shut the damn thing off and headed toward the house. I didn’t get very far

  when I felt my arm gripped way too tightly in his hand and yanking me back.

  “What the fuck is your problem?!” I shouted at him.

  His response was to slap his hand against my mouth and lower jaw and squeeze.

  Pain buzzed in my jaw where he had first cracked it so long ago, and I couldn’t help

  but release a muffled scream, not wanting to go back there. My eyes pled with him

  to stop, my free hand gripping and pulling at his wrist, but the scowl on his face

  showed no signs of concern.

  “This fucking mouth of yours,” he growled. “That is my goddamn problem.”

  Darren then released my face and practically dragged me to the house, nearly

  flinging me through the front door. I whirled around to face him, and immediately

  kicked my heels off, lowering myself another few inches, but at least, I would be

  more stable. We were going to fight. I could feel it.

  “Darren, what’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

  He shook his head at me, those eyes so dark and dangerous, and it only made me

  quiver inside, heat flourishing all over my body. He took another step toward me,

  and I couldn’t stop myself from retreating slightly, my knees bending and my feet

  light for quick movement. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my blood

  rushed so fast it was making me dizzy.

  “I probably should have mentioned something about that pendant of yours,” he

  said low and steady, taking several slow steps toward me. “One specific little detail

  …”

  He was even closer now, his body heat clouding around me as he towered over

  me, a menacing glare smeared all over his gorgeous face. He was fucking terrifying

  me because I knew he was going to say the one thing that was going to destroy

  everything.

 
“It records.”

  50

  HATE

  Cornered, trapped, and terrified. I had Jaden exactly where I wanted her, and she

  was fucking shaking with fear. On the outside, I was fucking furious but still in

  control, and on the inside, my rage was eating me alive. I’d heard every word she’d

  shared with Kayla, and it was everything I needed to hear, needed to confirm that

  her head was still wrapped around the wrong objective. After everything I’d just

  done for her, after all the time I’d spent pampering and pleasuring her, my warrior

  princess was still planning to betray me, and I just simply couldn’t have that. Even

  if she had no idea where to start or how to accomplish a single thing against me,

  the simple fact that the idea was even there in the first place was enough to put me

  into action.

  It didn’t matter how well I did or didn’t treat her, didn’t matter how lavish or

  hellish I could make her life, the amount of times I’d threatened her family, or the

  number of people I’d already killed to keep her as mine, she was still out for my

  blood. The only thing stopping her was that she wouldn’t be able to get away with it

  if she did. She still refused to accept her life and still intended to betray my trust

  and that was the undoing moment.

  I wanted to be able to trust Jaden more than anything. I wanted to feel her reach

  for me at night, whether she was scared, wet, or just needed to feel me. I wanted to

  create the dependency that she had created in me, and I was going to make that

  happen, starting right fucking now.

  Jaden was backed against the staircase, her small frame shivering in the dress I

  was going to rip to shreds. I traced my fingers along the side of her temple down

  her face, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, relishing in her obvious terror.

  She knew how much shit she was in, and the question was whether she was going

  to lie down and take it. She didn’t have a choice in it, of course, but I’d be lying if I

  said I wasn’t hoping for a fight.

  “You’re shaking, little girl,” I whispered and then tipped her chin up to face me.

  “Did you really think I wasn’t going to find out about your little plan to betray me?”

  Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, making them big and glassy and

  beautiful, the fire of her irises drenched in the wetness of her fear, and it was

  making me hard as fuck.

  And then suddenly, her eyes hardened.

  “Guess the cat’s out of the bag,” she said and shoved her palms into my chest.

  Catching her wrist before she could make another strike, Jaden countered with

  her legs, but she didn’t have enough room for a decent kick. And suddenly, it was

  game on.

  Jaden attempted to make every strike she could, but in the end, she just wasn’t

  fast enough. I blocked everything she gave until it was clear she was becoming

  tired, her body clearly out of practice with combat. And when she was done with her

  instinct to fight, she would commence to flight, and I would enjoy the shit out of

  that chase.

  When her attacks began to slow, I grabbed her arm and tossed her across the

  room. She rolled to the floor like the pro she was and then immediately bolted from

  the room just like I wanted her to. My dick became painfully hard as I chased her

  down into the next room and took her to the floor, pinning her beneath me, her

  back to my front.

  “You are such a bad girl,” I said as my teeth grazed her ear. “Your worst

  nightmare? I hope I live up to that tonight.”

  Jaden screamed in rage, struggling underneath me, sobbing and clawing at the

  floor until I gripped her wrists to hold them in place.

  “You knew! You asshole, you fucking knew where she was all this time, and you

  never told me! I fucking hate you! Get off me!”

  I shook my head at her, gritting my teeth. “And you knew I wasn’t going to tell

  you. It’s none of your business, Jaden. Get over it.”

  “Do you have to be such an asshole all the time?! Can’t you see how miserable I

  am?”

  I brought my hand up and yanked her head back by her hair, causing her to gasp.

  “And how would you compare your misery to Kayla’s? I treat you like a goddamn

  queen in comparison to how he treats her, like she a fucking pet. Is that how you

  want to live, Jaden? Is that what you would prefer?”

  More tears fell from her eyes and down her glossy cheeks as she took in my

  words.

  “No,” she whispered with a small sniffle.

  “I didn’t think so,” I said, releasing her hair. “Your misery is a result of your

  own inability to let go and accept what is. You’re the one who makes it hard on

  yourself, Jaden. Let go.”

  Jaden rested her forehead against the floor, her hands turning to fists as she

  silently cried to herself. She quieted eventually, her cries becoming softer, but her

  body remained just as tense. She stilled beneath me, her heavy breathing slowing

  while she dug her nails into her own palm.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her temple resting against the floor as tears drained

  from her eyes.

  “Sorry for what? Because you got caught?”

  She blinked.

  “I’m so stupid,” she barely breathed, and it just made me angrier.

  “Allow me to educate you,” I growled and flipped her over.

  I was inside her in seconds, ripping her dress to shreds and punishing her with

  my cock, filling her with my cum while she filled the air with her moans of ecstasy.

  She was fucking soaking for me, her core burning with liquid heat and calling me

  home. She might hate me, but she loved the way I took her body over the edge.

  Every. Single. Time. I could lose myself in her for days, and that was exactly what I

  planned to do, right after I made my final point.

  My hand gripped her throat and pulled her toward me. “Who do you belong to,

  Jaden?”

  She closed her eyes tightly, more tears spilling as she fought to deny the one

  question that she hated to admit. When she hesitated to answer, I felt my anger

  seethe again. “Answer me, little girl.”

  Jaden made a gasping sound before she finally opened her eyes. “You,” she said

  on a sob.

  Pressing my lips to hers, I rewarded her with tenderness, but only for a brief

  moment. Easing my grip on her throat, I kissed each one of her tears away,

  reminding her of what happens when she listens.

  “I’ve been so good to you these last few weeks. I’ve given you so much of my

  time, my love, my affection. Shown you how good I can be to you, but even after all

  that, you still don’t want it. You’d rather betray me instead.”

  Her body shook as more soft cries left her.

  “Oh, Jaden. I’m so disappointed.”

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered, her beautiful face flushed with the

  dark shadow of defeat.

  “You can. And I’m going to show you how. You’re going to learn what happens

  to those who betray me. And I’ve got quite the show planned for you, princess.”

  “Oh, God,” she breathed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “No.”

  “Oh, yes. Now, let’s go. We don’t want to keep our guest waiting any longer.”

  Pulling
away from Jaden’s warmth, I righted myself and then lifted her from the

  floor to bring her to her feet. Fixing her ruined dress, I managed to cover enough of

  her, and then gripped her arm to tug her out of the house and back toward the

  shack. That was where the real fun was going to begin, and I couldn’t wait to get

  started.

  Darren dragged me out of the house and out toward that wretched shed while his

  fucking cum dripped down the inside of my leg. I was grateful my dress was long

  enough to hide it. Looking toward the shed, I realized hadn’t been back there since

  the torture of the gardener, and it had me wanting to pull away, but I knew there

  was no chance he’d allow that. I just hoped whatever poor soul was down there was

  not someone I knew and by some small miracle actually deserved what was likely

  about to happen.

  Pulling me down the stairs to the basement level, I could hear voices and

  laughter until several of Darren’s men confirmed them. Scott leaned against the

  corner of the room while ten of Darren’s guards stood around in a circle,

  surrounding one man. They fanned out as we entered, making way for Darren to

  take command. Some men I recognized, Eric with his missing ears, others from

  around the estate, and Clive and Owen, who made their way to my side as Darren

  left me with them.

  “You all know why you’re here,” Darren said calmly, entering the circle. “We

  have a traitor among us.”

  The men around him cheered their vulgarity and roared with approval, and it

  made my stomach churn. The other man he was facing didn’t look as I expected

  him to look. He was fit, albeit not as tall and built as Darren, but he looked like he

  could have been one of his guards. Bald head, dark scruff around his face and

  bloodshot eyes; he looked tired but ready for something. “You all know the rules.

  No one interferes, and only one person walks away.”

  I looked on in confusion, my heart palpitating with fear as I came to the

  conclusion of what was going on here. “He’s going to fight him?” I asked Owen.

  “Yes. And you are to watch every second of it.”

  “What if he loses?” I asked.

  “He won’t.”

  “What if he did?”

  “Then he would be dead, and Brian would walk away a free man.”

  So, that means he’s obviously never lost. Fuck.